Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That,
subject to the provisions of this Act, and upon issuance of the proclamation
required by section 7(c) of this Act, the State of Hawaii is hereby declared to
be a State of the United States of America, is declared admitted into the Union
on an equal footing with the other States in all respects whatever, and the
constitution formed pursuant to the provisions of the Act of the Territorial
Legislature of Hawaii entitled "An Act to provide for a constitutional
convention, the adoption of a State constitution, and the forwarding of the
same to the Congress of the United States, and appropriating money
therefor", approved May 20, 1949 (Act 334, Session Laws of Hawaii,
1949), and adopted by a vote of the people of Hawaii in the election held on
November 7, 1950, is hereby found to be republican in form and in
conformity with the Constitution of the United States and the principles of the
Declaration of Independence, and is hereby accepted, ratified, and confirmed.

Allocating royalties from geothermal developments on
department of Hawaiian home lands (DHHL) lands to the board of land and natural
resources or the counties violated §4 of the Admission Act and article XII, §§1
and 3 of the Hawaii constitution. It is clear from the Admission Act and the
Hawaii constitution that the State has an obligation to manage such resources
on Hawaiian home lands for the benefit of native Hawaiians pursuant to the
Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (HHCA). Allocation of royalties from geothermal
developments on DHHL lands to entities other than DHHL would be violations of
both the Admission Act and the Hawaii constitution because those proceeds would
not be available to DHHL to carry out the terms and conditions of the HHCA.
Att. Gen. Op. 14-1.

The department of Hawaiian home lands' authority to manage
and dispose of geothermal resources on its lands, which stems from the
Admission Act, the Hawaii constitution, and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,
does not run afoul of the public trust doctrine. Att. Gen. Op. 14-1.

There is no positive command in this Act for the United
States to bring a breach of trust action against the Hawaiian homes commission
or its members. 824 F. Supp. 1480.

Where plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, state defendants
breached their trust responsibilities under this Act, claims against State or
its agencies or departments, and defendants in official capacities barred by
Eleventh Amendment; state defendants sued in personal capacities were entitled
to qualified immunity. 824 F. Supp. 1480.